TY - JOUR
T1 - An exploration of potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation of PTSD symptoms for military couples
AU - Allen, Elizabeth S.
AU - Renshaw, Keith D.
AU - Fredman, Steffany J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research and development project was conducted by University of Colorado Denver, approved by the Colorado Multiple Institution Board (COMIRB), effective 12/14/2012, and was made possible by a research grant that was awarded and administered by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and the United States Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC), under Contract Number: (Award # W81XWH‐12‐1‐0090). The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this research are those of the author(s)/company and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense and should not be construed as an official DoD/Army position, policy or decision unless so designated by other documentation. No official endorsement should be made.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Family Process Institute.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - In the context of service member posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate partners may experience pressure to take over parenting roles and run interference between the service member and the children; that is, to engage in partner accommodation focal to parenting. The current study quantitatively assessed potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation (PPEPA) in a sample of 207 female partners married to male service members with at least one child in the home and the convergence of PPEPA with service member PTSD symptoms, general partner accommodation, couple functioning, parenting, and child functioning. Partners' reports of PPEPA were associated with higher levels of service member PTSD symptoms and partners' general accommodation of PTSD symptoms. When controlling for service member PTSD symptoms and general partner accommodation, partner reports of PPEPA still accounted for unique variance in lower parenting alliance (as reported by both service member and partner), lower levels of service members' reports of closeness with children in the home, higher levels of harsh parenting by both the service member and partner, and greater child behavioral difficulties. Findings support PPEPA as related to partners' accommodative responses to PTSD but demonstrating unique associations with parenting alliance, parenting, and child outcomes. Parenting interventions in the context of PTSD may benefit from conjoint or family approaches that attend to the intersection of PTSD and broader family functioning, including pressures to engage in accommodation focal to the parenting domain.
AB - In the context of service member posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate partners may experience pressure to take over parenting roles and run interference between the service member and the children; that is, to engage in partner accommodation focal to parenting. The current study quantitatively assessed potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation (PPEPA) in a sample of 207 female partners married to male service members with at least one child in the home and the convergence of PPEPA with service member PTSD symptoms, general partner accommodation, couple functioning, parenting, and child functioning. Partners' reports of PPEPA were associated with higher levels of service member PTSD symptoms and partners' general accommodation of PTSD symptoms. When controlling for service member PTSD symptoms and general partner accommodation, partner reports of PPEPA still accounted for unique variance in lower parenting alliance (as reported by both service member and partner), lower levels of service members' reports of closeness with children in the home, higher levels of harsh parenting by both the service member and partner, and greater child behavioral difficulties. Findings support PPEPA as related to partners' accommodative responses to PTSD but demonstrating unique associations with parenting alliance, parenting, and child outcomes. Parenting interventions in the context of PTSD may benefit from conjoint or family approaches that attend to the intersection of PTSD and broader family functioning, including pressures to engage in accommodation focal to the parenting domain.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147368376&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85147368376&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/famp.12858
DO - 10.1111/famp.12858
M3 - Article
C2 - 36720198
AN - SCOPUS:85147368376
SN - 0014-7370
JO - Family Process
JF - Family Process
ER -